The race to watch at the final stop on the IAAF World Indoor Tour in Dusseldorf (GER) was supposed to be the men’s 1,500m, pitting the entire Ingebrigtsen family from Norway against the new world-record holder, Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia.
But someone forgot to tell Marie Josee Ta Lou (CIV).
She had the fastest time by far in the heats at 7.14, then stormed ahead after the first third of the final and raced to the finish in a world-leading 7.02.
“Before the race my coach told me that if I get a good start I could run 7.10,” she said. “So to get a big PB today was amazing.”
How fast is 7.02? Only Elaine Thompson (JAM: 6.98 in 2017) and Murielle Ahoure (CIV: 6.97 in 2018) have run faster over the last three years!
As to the men’s 1,500, it was a battle of the teen stars, as 19-year-old Tefera maintained the lead in the second half of the race. He had a four-meter lead with two laps to go, but by the bell, he and Jakob Ingebrigtsen – still 18 – were even.
Jakob had plenty of run left in him and broke away from Tefera on the final straight, winning in a personal indoor best of 3:36.02, while Tefera finished in 3:36.34.
Said Ingebrigtsen afterwards, “I felt good. You always have some negative thoughts, going from zero at the start to that kind of pace. But through the race I started feeling better. From there on (the goal) was just to beat Tefera. I ran 3:36 a couple weeks ago and now I’m in better shape than in that race. So obviously I could have run a few seconds faster, but today it was all about winning.”
The other highlights include Bingtian Su (CHN) running 6.49 in the men’s 60 m, the second-fastest time in the world this season, behind only his own 6.47. American Nathan Strother won his section of the 400 m in 46.48 and won the Tour title.
American Jarret Eaton false-started out of the heats of the 60 m hurdles, as did Spain’s Orlando Ortega, but Ortega was reinstated after a protest. He ended up winning the final in 7.52. Summaries:
IAAF World Tour
Dusseldorf (GER) ~ 20 February 2019
(Full results here)
Men
60 m: 1. Bingtian Su (CHN), 6.49; 2. Bryce Robinson (USA), 6.57; 3. Michael Rodgers (USA), 6.57. Also: 7. Chris Belcher (USA), 6.68.
400 m/ Race 1: Oscar Husillos (ESP), 46.96; 2. Luka Janezic (SLO), 47.10; 3. Luguelin Santos (DOM), 47.46. Race 2: 1. Nathan Strother (USA), 46.48; 2. Pavel Maslak (CZE), 46.73; 3. Torben Junker (GER), 47.50.
800 m: 1. Alvaro de Arriba (ESP), 1:46.63; 2. Balazs Vindics (HUN), 1:47.87; 3. Aaron Botterman (BEL), 1:47.94.
1,500 m: 1. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR), 3:36.02; 2. Samuel Tefera (ETH), 3:36.34; 3. Filip Ingebrigtsen (NOR), 3:38.62.
60 m Hurdles: 1. Orlando Ortega (ESP), 7.52; 2. Milan Trajkovic (CYP), 7.52; 3. Freddie Crittenden (USA), 7.60. Also: 4. Aaron Mallett (USA), 7.66.
High Jump: 1. Naoto Tobe (JPN), 2.34 m (7-8); 2. Yu Wang (CHN), 2.34 m (7-8); 3. Luis Joel Castro (PUR), 2.25 m (7-4 1/2).
Women
60 m: 1. Marie Jose Ta Lou (CIV), 7.02; 2. Ewa Swoboda (POL), 7.10; 3. Dafne Schippers (NED), 7.19.
400 m: 1. Lena Naumann (GER), 54.61; 2. Djamila Boehm (GER), 55.17; 3. Astrid Ingerbritsen (NOR), 55.35.
800 m: 1. Habitam Alemu (ETH), 2:00.70; 2. Shelayna Oskan-Clarke (GBR), 2:02.25; 3. Liga Velvere (LAT), 2:02.28.
Pole Vault: 1. Anzhelika Sidorova (RUS), 4.77 m (15-7 3/4); 2. Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou (GRE), 4.67 m (15-3 3/4); 3. Katerina Stefanidi (GRE), 4.62 m (15-1 3/4).
Triple Jump: 1. Yulimar Rojas (VEN), 14.46 m (47-5 1/4); 2. Patricia Mamona (POR), 14.22 m (46-8); 3. Kristiina Makela (FIN), 14.05 m (46-1 1/4).
Shot Put: 1. Christina Schwanitz (GER), 19.14 m (62-9 1/2); 2. Fanny Roos (SWE), 18.47 m (60-7 1/4); 3. Anita Marton (HUN), 18.34 m (60-2).
